happy father's day - blindrun

[merging]

 [Honestly? He's been here wayyy longer than he planned to be. He knew it'd be hard to escape, but it had to be possible. That's what he kept telling himself. Days turned into weeks turned into months and now? It's been over a year.

The other Inquisitors still don't completely treat him like one of them. Or maybe teasing is their way of doing so? He rolls his eyes whenever they call him "baby brother", thinking they could at least have some sense of professionalism. But everything's been going okay for the most part. As okay as it can be when you're an Inquisitor-in-training.

Except today was... well, it was something else. They were assigned to ambush a small rebel cell that was said to be working with a Jedi. It should've been easy, except for the part where it wasn't. The rebels got away and the Inquisitors had failed. Now Ezra's standing outside the Grand Inquisitor's office while the adults debrief. It's frustrating, being left out like this, but he also knows there isn't much he can do about it.]

Comments

[blindrun]

[ third brother is about ready to dismiss ezra's anger, but then the storm troopers say that and he feels his blood go cold. what did he just...

he says nothing to ezra and turns head to the officer. ]

Shut the feed.

[merging]

No!

[Ezra throws the officer back with the Force, but it's too late. The feed has already been turned off and his parents are gone.

At least he's super dark sidey now?]

[blindrun]

[ the officer just manages to press the right key to cut the connection before he's thrown out of his seat and into the near wall with the force of collision. he screams in pain and terror and clutches his left arm, twisted and limp from the brute strength of slamming against the metallic walls. another officer launches up from his seat, sees the damage, and quickly gets on the comms--

officer down, we need a medic, copy!

third brother regards the scene with only muted interest. well, that's one way to motivate someone. ezra is lucky he's considered high rank enough that no one seems to be interested in actually doing anything to him at the moment. at least no one who actually matters. ]

Finished?

[merging]

[Ezra takes a moment and breathes, trying to calm down before he does anything else. He'd already made a scene the day before, he reminds himself.

At Third Brother's question, he scowls.]

You knew.

[blindrun]

I did.

[ he searched up what happened to the bridger family a couple days after he brought ezra to base. it was surprising to learn they were being kept alive after everything that happened. perhaps after so many years they decided there was no point killing two people who could simply be forced into effective workers. prison labor is free labor and all.

there's another factor though. a much stronger one too, as third brother read. ]

You weren't wrong though, Bridger. They were set to be executed... alongside you. You were meant to be taken away with them on that day. However the storm troopers couldn't find you, and the neighbors didn't know where you ran off to either.

And so you became motivation - to keep them in line. Obedient.

[merging]

Why didn't you tell me?! We could've saved them! We can save them! Where are they?

[What happened in the past doesn't concern him. Not now, when he's so close to finally having a family again.]

[blindrun]

Save them?

[ repeated dully, because it isn't even funny to make a sardonic quip out of. the couple officers in the room, currently trying to help their colleague, turn their head over when they hear ezra's cries of treason. third brother shuts his eyes behind his helmet, exhausted, and turns around. ]

With me.

[ and he starts to walk toward the exit, just as the requested medics rush in and make their way over to the officers. too many ears and ezra has crossed the line. ]

[merging]

[In Ezra's mind, there's nothing treasonous about it. He's an Inquisitor and his family has been wrongly imprisoned. He's stronger than any of the officers, any of the stormtroopers, anyone who might try to stop him. What is this position worth, what is this power worth if he can't save his family?

But he does notice the looks, so he sighs and follows Third Brother.]

Fine.

[blindrun]

[ he's thankful to not have to force ezra out of the room like a wild animal, and instead walks them to a nearby conference room. no one is inside and once he's there he raises his hand and focuses in on the room. his hand curls and just in the corner of the room a microscopic camera, powerful enough to monitor the whole room despite its size, snaps. they won't be watched now.

once done he removes his helmet and sets it down on the table in the center of the room, taking a slight lean against it. ]

Bridger, ask yourself: why did I decide to show you that?

[ he's been sitting on this information for a year and revealing it now is done with purpose. ezra is smart, he wants to see how the cogs in his head turn. ]

[merging]

I don't know. Because you want me to kill you?

[He's smart, sure, but it's hard to think things through when you're blinded by rage. That, and his thoughts are a million miles away, making plans on how he'll force the officers to reveal his parents' location, steal a ship, break them out, and so on.

[blindrun]

[ ok, that gets a snap-reaction laugh out of him. ezra is real good for a laugh when he gets like this. he likes it. this anger, the hate and rage. it reminds him why he picked ezra out of that defunct academy to begin with, and he's only grown more fond of him since.

--except he has to stop laughing to hiss instead, body shifting a little and the sore reminder of yesterday cropping back up. ]

Ahah... damn. Well, you'd be putting me out of my misery. [ he smirks lightly. ] I know what you're thinking. You want to break them out. But you can't.

[merging]

[You should've let him die, a voice whispers in the back of his head. He quiets it, since that's not the issue right now.]

What, are you gonna stop me? Like that?

[blindrun]

No.

But if you go as you plan to, guns blazing and sword out, you'll get yourself killed. Your parents will also be killed for your actions. I'll definitely be killed too for letting you go so far.

[ ezra, he thinks, should be able to reason all of this out on any normal occasion. he's smart, even if he's also stupid. ]

[merging]

It can't be that hard breaking into an Imperial prison. The Rebels do it all the time.

[And he's not planning to completely run in. He'll interrogate, torture a little, mess with people's minds. All the usual stuff.]

[blindrun]

Kid, take it from me: no lightsaber is going to stop an army shooting at you all at once.

[ and they will fire if ezra breaks in. ]

You're thinking about this the wrong way. Brute strength is not the only option here. There's a way for you to free your parents and also ensure they can go back to living their lives in peace, rather than fugitives on the run for the rest of their lives.

[ and frankly? they did not look to be in great shape. ]

[merging]

[Duh, that's why he has a lightsaber and the Force. But...]

What do you mean?

[blindrun]

[ ah, now he has his attention. good. he thinks ezra will like what he has to say. ]

I didn't plan any of what just happened Bridger. I had an idea, talked to an officer, and got your parents on the line in a few minutes. That is the power of rank in the Empire - you can pull strings, get around the bureaucracy, and get results unhindered.

[ he crosses his arms, tsking lightly. ]

My siblings, and even you, often forget Inquisitors have more than just brute strength in power. We have rank and that matters just as much in this system. If I wanted to? I could arrange your parent's release in a matter of days.

[merging]

[He's zoned out a little. Sorry, Third Brother, but bureaucracy talk is boring. Ezra only focuses in on the important parts.]

Then why don't you?

[blindrun]

[ a smirk twitches up. ]

And steal your thunder?

[ besides, then ezra really would just run off and leave and he can't have that. no, he doesn't want to let him go. they're master and apprentice, brothers in arms, and he won't give him up to some weaklings he presumed to be dead for almost a decade. ]

You want to be an Inquisitor, but you lacked a good reason to commit. Here's your reason - you can safely arrange your parents out, put them back in society, and they can resume their lives. It won't be perfect, as nothing under the Empire ever is, but breaking them out makes them fugitives of the law. They'll be shot on sight, and you with them.

So see? Everyone wins.

[ including third brother. ]

[merging]

[It makes some sense logically, which he can process now that his anger's starting to die now. There's just one problem.]

What if I don't want to be an Inquisitor?

[blindrun]

Then your parents rot? [ duh? he shrugs. ] You saw how they looked. Most likely they're being forced into labor, barely eating, minimal sleep. I'm actually surprised they haven't died yet - they must have strong wills.

But strong will isn't enough. If the Empire deems them too weak to work, they'll be killed. Not for any treason or rebellion, but for becoming invalids. I doubt they'd be able to be on the run if you break them out.

[merging]

Even if they're free, my parents won't be happy living under the Empire. And... the way they looked at me. They were afraid.

[Not just for him either.]

[blindrun]

I can't imagine they're happy now either.

[ ezra hasn't seen them in nine years, and the reverse is true too. seeing their son, alive and healthy, is perhaps the only spark of hope they have had in years. ]

Ask yourself Ezra: what would you give to save them? If you could do it in a way that protected them after the immediate freedom as well, why wouldn't you? Isn't that what you want?

[merging]

I don't think that's what my parents would want.

[This whole time he's been fighting to survive, to just live another day. But this life has no meaning, not the way theirs did.]

They knew what they were risking and they still fought back. And then they gave up everything for me. And I... I need to think.

[He turns to leave, still not realizing how treasonous his words are. Despite everything, he's the type who speaks his mind no matter what.]

[blindrun]

[ third brother's eyes widen as he turns, not at all expecting this response. he had it all figured out in his head - show ezra his parents, give him a well-thought out plan to free them, and then he'd have him. ezra's barrier isn't his power but his commitment, and this way he could secure it. tether his parents to him with a chain and tether himself to him in the same way.

now ezra turns away and he feels like he's losing him as he walks. ]

Ezra! [ he calls out, slipping on using his real name again-- ] Think things through! You're not thinking logically.

[ his plans are never perfect, but they're near as much as it can be. it's why he's the tactician. how could he miscalculate? how could he be losing his apprentice to the light? ]